Scab's Pinot Noir continues

The search for scab's pinot continues.

Prior to the 2001 vintage Chanson had arguably the worst reputation of any of the negotiants of Beaune, think Louis Latour; Drouhin; Jadot. Bollinger bought the company from the Marion family in 1999. Bollinger immediately found themselves at the centre of a scandal which was not of their making. Over 700,000 bottles in the cellars were found to be illegally blended wines.

Cellar master Marc Cugney had, under the supervision of the Marions, committed numerous fraudulent acts in the cellars. Standard Bourgogne had been bulked up with Vins de Pays from Languedoc and wines from Allicante. Some red burgundies contained in excess of 75% vins de pays! Certain site specific wines including those from the famous Clos des Mouches and Beaune Greves were blended from a concoction of wines. Worryingly these wines passed the agrement ( testing and tasting by the INAO required if the wines are to be granted the AOC). Evidence given at the trial indicated that over 25% of Chanson's wines in 2000, 1999 and 1998 were fraudulent. In light of this my advice would be to avoid Chanson wine predating 2002 like the plague. There are a couple of older bits and pieces knocking around various branches of O'Briens at apparently reasonable prices for bottle aged Burgundy. For the reasons stated above I haven't tried any of these, but would caution against purchase.

Fortunately those days are firmly behind Chanson now. Bollinger have installed the team of Giles de Courcel- of the illustrious Domaine de Courcel in Pommard, and winemaker Jean-Pierre Confuron- of Confuron-Cotetidot at Vosne-Romanee. Together these two have redefined quality at Chanson and the wines are improving with every vintage.

My impression of the overhauled Chanson wines are as follows ( based on the relatively limited wines I have tried) . The reds are more consistent than the whites, although the whites have come significantly since 2005. From what I have read the 2006 whites are superb, notably the Pernand-Vergelesses En Caradeux 2006. The 2005 is very good too, although there appears to be a hint of free sulphur knocking around. ( perhaps this is in reaction to the phenomenon for premature oxidation of white burgundy experienced in recent years, suppposedly caused by, amongst other things, a trend for increasingly low sulphur dosages in recent years).
I have been less impressed by their Savigny Les Beaune les Hauts Marconnets 2004, which appeared to be suffering from a serious fault in a couple of bottles, characterised by a horribly pronounced curry leaf aroma. At the far end of the scale their Macon Village 2008 is undoubtedly good value for money and a fantastic party wine. I have read that this is O'Brien's best selling wine.

The reds from the Cotes de Beaune, Chanson's home turf, have a better reputation than their wines from the Cotes de Nuits and Cotes Chalonnaise. I have tasted many of the 2002 Beaune Premier Cru reds and would recommend them all, particularly the Clos des Feves. I have come across a couple of corked bottles of Clos du Roi 2002. I would skip the 2003 and 2004s, although I have not tasted them. The 2005s are more expensive than the 2002s, presumably because Bollinger are not doing this for the good of their health! In fairness to O'Briens though the pricing is roughly in line with cellar door retail prices in France, and you could probably pay a lot more for these wines in a posh shop in Paris.

The 2005 Clos des Feves scored 19/20 in the Bettane and Desseauve Guide 2008- in the same league as the Romanee Conti's of this world- and is still a bit of a bargain at 55 euro. I have one sacred bottle which I am keeping for my fiftieth, or when I qualify for the bar- whichever happens first! The Beaune Greves 2005 is also damn fine and rated so by Jancis Robinson. I had a bottle recently over Sunday lunch. Way, way too young but pretty damn tasty nonetheless.

I was less impressed by their Mercurey 2006, and Cotes de Nuits 2006. That is not to say that these wines are bad but that they were less expressive, and less interesting than the wines above. Having said that both were just under twenty euro so I am not sure that this is a fair comparison.

Anyway, what about their Bourgogne Rouge 2007?

Wine: Light in body. Fairly muted on the nose with some red fruit character and a touch of pinot whiff. Light to medium bodied on the palate, old world ripe with refreshing acidity and sufficient grip to stand up to plain salmon or chicken. Refined, elegant and restrained. Nothing spectacular here, but very well done. Would buy again, recommended. Available for 15.95 in O'Briens. 11 euro at Chanson in France.

Also recommended by Bettane and Desseauve Guide 2010. 15/20 and smiley face for good value!